Trolley.



G. PAULI. TROLLEY.

v APPLICATION FILED D110. 4, 1909, I r Y 963,387. Patented July 5, 1910.

A W mm. M kw w m RT F My 0/ Fmwmw M QM MM Hu 7 mm w w an J I K m *W N %Nh E u& mx & W m 3 N m m m Md a H w W m R w ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

CARL PAULI, 0F ROSELLE PARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NEW JERSEY FOUNDRYAND MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TROLLEY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL PAULI, a citizen of no country, and a residentof Roselle Park, in the county of Union, in the State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys, of whichthe following is a specification, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, which forms a part of the same.

This invention relates to trolleys and more particularly to trolleyswhich can be converted or changed from a non-geared trolley to a gearedtrolley, or the reverse, as it is desired to transport heavy or lightleads by means of its aid. By the term trolley I mean any carriage whichmoves along an elevated rail, or rails for the transportation of heavyor light loads; it of course being understood that the two flanges uponwhich the traction wheels operate is in effect two rails or tractionsurfaces.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown. simply for purposes ofillustration, one illustrative embodiment of this invention in which thesame reference numerals refer to similar parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section on substantially the line 1-1of Fig. 2, parts of the mechanism being shown in side elevation and oneof the pinions being broken away for purposes of better illustration; 2is a side elevation of the trolley and a track a portion of the trolleybeing broken away for purposes of illustration; Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe development of the cam slot with which the interior of the pinionsare provided; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through one of the pinionsshowing a portion of the cam slot; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showinga detail of construction; Fig. (3 is a transverse vertical sectionalview through the track and an end View of the trolley on a smaller scaleshowing a swivel connection between the carriage and the first set ofwheels of the trolley.

. In the illustrative embodiment of this invention shown in the drawing,1 is a trolley which may be formed in various ways and of variousmaterial. For purposes of illustration I have shown it consisting of acarriage 2 formed of substantially two side plates 3 and 4 connectedtogether by any suitable means such as by a strut 5. The upper end ofeach of the side plates 3 and 4c is provided in any suitable manner wlthSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 4, 1909.

Patented July 5, 1910. Serial No. 531,415.

upwardly extending ears 6 and 7, respectively, which may be formedintegral with the ends of the side plates 8 and 4: or secured to them inany suitable manner and are preferably, though not necessarily, mountedat a slight angle to their respective side plates.

\ In the upper end of each of the ears 6 and 7 I mount gear tractionwheels 8 and 9 by means of the headedbolts, 10, 10 and nuts 11, 11. Eachof these traction wheels 8 and 9 has two peripheries 12 and 13; theformer being preferably of the smaller diameter and formed smooth, whilethe latter is preferably of the greater diameter and is provided withgear teeth 14, 14 to mesh with the teeth 15, 15 on the pinions 16 and17, respectively. In the construction shown for purposes of illustrationI mount the plain or smooth portion 12, 12 of the traction wheels 8 and9 to engage the flange 18 of an I-beam 19 which serves as a track,though it is to be understood, of course, that any other suitable formof track may be used.

Extending through and preferably adjacent to the ends of the side plates8 and at I mount an axis 20 having a hand or chain wheel 21. Preferably,though not necessarily, this wheel is mounted at such an elevation thatit is desirable to operate it through some other instrumentality such asa rope or chain 22. This wheel may be given any suitable contour butpreferably it is formed with a concave periphery for the reception ofthe chain or other operating means, the bottom of the groove 28 of thechain wheel being preferably provided with lugs 24 to cooperate with thedifferent links of the chain 22 to prevent slipping or lost motion ofthe chain in the groove 23.

Each of the pinions l6 and 17 is loosely mounted upon the axle 20 andcapable of a relative limited rotation with relation to it, to permitthe pinions 16 and 17 (or one of them if only one be used) to be engagedand disconnected from the gear teeth 14, 1 1 upon the wheels 8 and 9,respectively, so as to permit these wheels to run free without engagingwith the teeth l5, 15 of the pinions. While I have found from experiencethat it is better to apply the traction to two of the wheels of thecarriage such as 8 and 9, it is, of course, to be understood that ifdesired power may be transmitted to only one of such wheels in whichcase one of the the gear teeth 14, 14 of the wheels 8 and 9.

Simply for purposes of illustration, but to which my invention is not tobe limited, I show these pinions thrown into and out of engagement'withthe gear teeth 14, 14 of the wheels 8 and 9, respectively, by means ofcam slots 25 and'pins 26, 26, the cam slots being cast, machined, orotherwise formed in the separate pinions 16 and 17 and the pins 26, 26being secured in any suitable manner in or to the axle 20', though ofcourse this arrangement may be reversed if desired, the same functionbeing accomp'lish'ed.

The cam grooves 25 are. preferably formed of two separate portions 27,27 as more fully shown in the development of thec'am in Fig. 3; Thearrangement is such that when the pins 26', 26 are at either end 28, 28of the arms 27, 27 of the cam grooves25, 25,.the pinions will be inengagement with the teeth of the cooperating gear wheel 8 or 9 as thecase may be. With the gear wheels in this position it will be apparentthat by rotating the axle 20 by means of the chain 22 and chain wheel 21a portion of a revolution in a direction opposite to that in which itwas last traveling, the pin- 26 will be caused to travel from either end28 toward the junction 29 of the arms 27, 27 (Fig. 3) which will cause,-in an obvious manner, the pinion to slide toward the center of thecarriage and out of engagement wit-h its respective wheel 8 or 9, as thecase may be, permitting its cooperating gear wheel to travel free fromengagement with the teeth 15 upon the pinion. The pinion can then beengaged with its respective gearwheel by reversing the partial rotationof the axle 20; l/Vhile I have described merely the operation ofone ofthe pinions, this description applies alsoto the other pinion, if twoshould be used, though as previously noted my invention will operatewith merely one pinion. When two of them are used as shown in theillustration they move simultaneously into and out of engagement byrotating the axle 20.

In cases where the track is circuitous my invention prevents the outsidewheel 12 from sliding along on the track due to the factthat it has agreater distance to travel than the wheel on the inside of the curve.This objection in trolleys and the consequent intermittent-friction onthe track is prevented in my device for the wheel travelon the outsideof the curve will rotate its pinion at a slightly higher rate of speedthan the axle 20 is traveling. This will I causethat pinion with its camgroove 25 to slide on its pin 26, until the teeth 15 of that pinion havemomentarily become disengaged from the teeth 14 which will permit one ormore teeth on the gear wheel to slip to compensate for the additionaltravel of the outside wheel. When the two Wheels 8 and 9 are againtraveling at the same speed the pinion which had been momentarilydisengaged will be automaticallythrown back into its engagement with itsrespective gear wheel. This act of the pinion may be confined either toone of them or the pinions may be successively thrown in or out ofengagement depending upon the'form of curve track over which the trolleyis traveling.

My trolley may comprise simply the pair of traction wheels such as shownin Fig. 1 but preferably, though not necessarily, 1 provide the carriagewith another set of traction wheels 30 mounted in a yoke 31swivellyconnected with an I-bolt 32 held to the yoke 31 by means of anut 100. Through the eye 33 of this bolt 1 pass a rod or strut 34securing it to the sides 3 and 4 of the carriage, which is alsopreferably further braced by means of the strut 5 which preferablyextends to the front of the carriage. An additiomilstrut 35, Fig. 6, mayalso in some cases be used. By arranging the traction wheels 30, 30 sothat they have swivel connection with the carriage it will be readilyseen that the trolley has great flexibility and can negotiate very sharpcurves in the track.

The carriagemay be provided in any suitable manner, with mechanism forthe suspension orthe lifting of the article to be transported. Thismechanism,however, is no part of this invention. For purposes ofillustration I have shown a ring 36 connected to the carriage to whichany suitable suspension or lifting mechanism may be attached (notshown).

My convertible trolley has proved in practice to be of great value. Itcombines the advantages of a geared trolley with all the advantages of aplain trolley and with no disadvantage of either. If it is desired tomove the trolley over to a light load, it is not necessary to take thetime and effort of working it over by means of pulling on the chain 22until-the pinions 16 and 17 have moved the carriage over to the objectto'be transported. On the contrary by giving a partial revolution to theaxle 20 by. means of the chain 22 the pinions 16 and 17 are caused tomove toward each other and out of engagement with the gear teeth 14, 14of the wheels 8 and 9. The entire trolley can then be quickly movedalong the track by merely pulling or dragging simultaneously upon the.two ends of the Cir chain 22, the trolley then acting simply as a plainor non-geared trolley. If the object to be transported is relativelylight and does not create suflicient friction upon the trackv 18 toresist easy movement of the trolley, the ends of the chain 22 areretained in the same position as last described which will hold thepinions 16 and 17 out of mesh with the gear teeth 14,14 so that thetrolley can be further moved, or pulled, now with the addition of thelight load, to the position where said load is to be deposited. Thisopera tion of the trolley as an ungeared trolley may continue until suchtime as an object to be transported is relatively heavy in which casethe pinions are still retained out of gear with the geared teeth 14, 14,until the trolley is located over or adjacent to the object to be liftedor carried. With such a heavy object and one which creates considerablefriction upon the track, the ends of the chains 22 are moved withrelation to each other sufficiently to give a partial rotation to thechain wheel 21 which being transmitted to the axle 20will cause arelative rotation between the pins 26, 2G and the cam grooves 25, 25 inwhich they are located, so as to throw the pinions 16 and 17 outward andinto mesh with their respective gear wheels 8 and 9. The trolley has nowbeen converted into a geared trolley and the traction wheels 12, 12 areoperated by pulling upon the chain 22 so as to rotate the axle 20 andpinions 1(5 and 17 through the teeth 14 and 15. While operating as ageared trolley, it is ready at any moment upon the depositing of therelatively heavy load, to be again changed to a non-geared trolley,permitting a quick trip to the next load and, if the load be a lightone, the trolley will be continued as a non-geared trolley to permit thelight load to be quickly transported. If the next load proves to be aheavy one the trolley is moved along the track by means of the gears.

In some cases, though not necessarily, I have found it expedient toapply friction to one or both of the pinions when they are out ofengagement with their gear wheels 8 and .9 so as to prevent anaccidental reengagement of the pinion with its gear wheel. One form ofsuch device but to which my invention is not to be limited, isillustrated in Figs. 1 and 5 in which I secure a piece of preferablyspring metal 37 by means of a screw or other fastening device 38 to theside plate 3 having the end 39 of the plate bent into a position whereit will engage between teeth 15, 15 on the pinion when the latter hasbeen thrown over into its inoperative position such as shown in Fig. 5.This holds the pinion from rela tive movement on the axle 20 until suchtime as it. is desired to give a positive relative movement between thepinion and the axle which will cause the pinion with its teeth to engagewith the teeth 14 of the gear Wheel and at the same time becomedisengaged from the. arm 39 of the retarding device 37.

Having thus described this invention in connection with an illustrativeembodiment thereof to the details of which I do not desire to belimited, what is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure byLetters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. The combination with a trolley of one or more wheels carried by thetrolley, means to drive the trolley, and automatic means to connect ordisconnect said driving means to or from the wheel or wheels of thetrolley permitting it to operate as a plain or geared trolley.

2. In a trolley the combination of one or more wheels, a driving axle,an automatic means to directly connect or disconnect said wheel orwheels with or from said axle to permit the trolley to operate either asa. power or a non-power driven trolley.

3. In a trolley the combination of one or more wheels to cooperate witha track, an axle to positively drive said wheel or wheels, and automaticmeans mounted on the axle to connect or disconnect said driving axle' toor from the wheel or wheels to permit the trolley to operate eithe as apower or nonpower driven trolley.

4. A trolley comprising the combination of a pair of wheels adapted tocooperate with any suitable track, a driven member, a driving member,positive driving means between the driving and driven members adapted topositively drive said members, and means for automatically andpositively disconnecting said driving member from said driven member topermit the trolley to operate either as a power or a non-power driventrolley.

5. In a trolley the combination of a pair of wheels adapted to cooperatewith a track, one or more driven members connected one to each wheel, adriving member, one or more pinions loosely mounted upon the drivingmember and adapted to cooperate with the driven member or members, andmeans between the pinion or pinions and the driving member to connectand disconnect the pinion or pinions from the driven members to permitthe trolley to operate either as a power or a non-power driven trolley.

6. In a trolley the combination of a pair of wheels adapted to cooperatewith a track, one or more gear wheels connected one to each wheel, adriving member, one or more pinions provided with cam slots, one or morepins carried by the driving member, one pin for each cam slot to permitthe trolley to operate as a geared or a nongeared trolley.

7. In a trolley the combination of a pair &

of Wheels adapted to cooperate with a track, a driving member, one ormore pinions loosely mounted upon the driving member and adapted tocooperate with the wheels, means between the pinion and the drivingmember to connect and disconnect the pinion or pinions from the wheelsto permit the trolley to operate either as a geared or a non-gearedtrolley, and a retarding member to hold the pinion in its inoperativeposition and to prevent its accidental operation.

8. In a trolley the combination of a pair of Wheels adapted to cooperatewith a track, a driving member, one or more pinions provided wit-h camslots, one or more pins carried by the driving member one for each camslot, permitting the'trolley to operate as a geared or a non-gearedtrolley, and a member adapted'to engage with the teeth of thepinion andto prevent its accidental operation while in its inoperative position.

9. In a trolley the combination of a carriage, a pair of gear tractionwheels, a pair of non-geared traction wheels, a driving axle, pinionsloosely mounted upon the axle and adapted to have a relative movementwith relation to the same, and means between the pinions and the axlepermitting the pinions to be engaged with and disengaged'from the gearwheels.

10. In a trolley the combination of a carriage, a pair of gear tractionwheels, a pair of non-geared traction wheels, means to swivelly mountsaid non-geared traction wheels on the carriage, a driving axle, pinionsloosely mounted upon the axle and adapted to have a relative movementwith I relation to the same, and means between the pinions and theaxlepermitting the pinions to be engaged with'and disengaged from the gearedwheels. 7. r

'11. In a trolley the combination of a pair of wheels adapted tocooperate with the track, one or more friction members connect- I ed oneto each wheel, a driving member, one

or more driven elements loosely mounted upon the drivingmember andadapted to cooperate with the friction member or members, and meansbetween the loosely mounted driven member or members and the drivingmember to connect and disconnect the loosely mounted driven member ormembers from the friction members to permit the trolley to operateeither as a power or nonpower driven trolley.

V 12. In a trolley the combination of a pair 'of wheels adapted tocooperate with the track, one or more friction members connected one toeach wheel, a driving member, a loosely mounted driven member mounted onthe driving member, and cooperating means carried partly by the drivenmember and partly by the driving member to move the driven memberlaterally with relation to the driving member to connect or disconnectthe driving member with the friction member to permit the trolley tooperate as a power or a non-power driven trolley.

13. In a trolley the combination of a,whcel adapted to cooperate with atrack, a gear member adapted to actuate the wheel, a driving member, aloosely mounted driven member mounted on the driving member and providedwith a cam slot, means on the driving member to cooperate with the camslot in the driven member to permit the trolley to operate either as ageared or non-geared trolley.

14; In a trolley the combination of a wheel adapted to cooperate with atrack, a gear member adapted to actuate the wheel, a driving member, aloosely mounted driven member mounted on the driving member and adaptedto cooperate with the gear member, a pin and cam-slots one carried bythe driven member and the other by the driving member and adapted tocooperate with each other to permit the trolley to operate either as ageared or non-geared trolley.

15. In a trolley the combination of a wheel adapted to cooperate with atrack, a gear member adapted to actuate the wheel, a driven memberloosely mounted on the driving member and adapted to cooperate with thegear member, a pin and double cam slots one carried by the driven memberand the other by the driving member and adapted to cooperate with eachother to permit the trolley to operate either as a geared or nongearedtrolley.

16. In a trolley the combination'of a pair of wheels adapted tocooperatewith a track, one or more gear wheels connected one to eachwheel, a driving member, one or more pinions provided with double camslots, one or more pins carried by the driving member, one pin for eachdouble cam'slot to permit the trolley to operate as a geared or a non-

